(Final part)
Part 4- Fire and Rain
She never liked music this loud, it was always so awkward- the feeling of her heart madly pumping whilst her body being unable to do anything about it. It was an uptown club that Mihika had booked, not tacky or cheap, but quite classy with a number of respectable bachelors. Her eyes carefully analysed the scene in front of her, lots of single girls on a sworn mission to charm as many men as possible and vice versa. The drinks, the dancing, the lights and the smoke were all just too young for her she felt.
Whilst this was originally a plan of revenge for her sisters and to some extent still is, they had used the opportunity to ensure they had a good time and to Ishita's surprise when they had gotten there, Vandu vowed to give the best send-off to Mihika. Mihika and the other girls were getting scarily daring by the minute, daring each other to charm the next guy to come their way. Of course, Vandu and herself were on guard to ensure that nothing gets out of control.
"Vandu Akka, tum teek ho na?"
"Ishu main bilkul teek hoon. Mihika ko dekh kar muhje both hassi ar rahe hai. Lekin tum parashan lagti ho?"
"Tum to bachban se he janti ho Akka, main kitne boring hu?"
"Vaise, tumko apne ne liya time kabh mil ta hai? Jao, enjoy karo thoda sa. Atleast kuch bhi conversation karo kis ke saath, time pass karne ke liya, atleast until the men arrive and we take our revenge? Chalo, ek orange juice mujhe chaaye."
"Ok Akka."
A millions thoughts were going through Ishita's mind. The plan was to wait about an hour to call Mihir, Bala and Raman at the same time, so that they can see that their wives can also enjoy just as men typically think they can. It was taking a bit too long, minutes felt like hours to Ishita. As she ordered the orange juice, she lost herself in her own thoughts. What exactly did Raman do at Mihir's Bachelor party? She had accepted the fact that all of them, including Bala(to her disappointment) would have attempted flirting or trying to 'pataa' a ladke at some point in the party with their drunkenness to encourage them, but did it go further? She couldn't think about that, not right now.
Before she was about to return to Vandu Akka someone stopped her.
"Is this your bachelorette party?" Ishita looked up to see a tall, fair-skinned young man asking her the question.
"Nahin- I mean no, it's actually for my youngest sister. I'm married."
"Really? Marf ki jiye. You look really young. Can I buy you a drink?"
"I'm sorry I don't drink at all."
"Pakka? Main be nahi drink kar ta hu. Woh actually mere dost hai na, they gave me a shard, ke main ladke ko drink buy karne hai. Please. Pretend kar lo ke maine drink kareed hi hai, varna they'll humiliate me."
Ishita saw no harm in playing along. She turned back to see Vandita, but saw that Vandita was occupied with talking to the rest of the girls. As long as she was sitting down, she would be relaxed.
"Yeah, sure."
As the music roared on, Ishita was lost in a conversation with this stranger. He was a dentist too, he shared her opinions, her thoughts and her interests. It really was a small world. It was a test that she braved herself for. She realised at that very moment she felt nothing for that stranger, no matter how many similarities they shared. There was no electricity, he didn't knock her off of her feet or stimulate her brain, she was able to guess his responses within a split second. No excitement. No anticipation. Ishita smiled, unbeknownst to the stranger was that her smile was a result of her own thoughts, thoughts that led her to conclude that no matter how frustrating he can be, there is no other man like Raman Kumar Bhalla.
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"Kya? Mihir? Ishita ne mujhse be kaha ta ki usko exactly 11pm pick up karna hai."
"Haa Bhai, Bala be yahi kehra ta."
"Chalo, Madrasan ka Magic chal raha hai, kuch plan hai woh Jhansi Ki Rani ka. Main sab Mihika koh blame karta hu."
"Bhai, Mihika ko mat blame karo, kya hoga mera je voh sab kuch sun le ge?"
"Chupp. Bala ko isi vakt pick karne jate hai, aur isi vakt Madrasan ko early surprise visit deh te hai."
It took exactly an hour find this stupid club that Mihika had booked. A million thoughts ran through Raman's head. Was she having fun? Were they up to what the boys had been up to a couple of nights ago?
Raman couldn't believe that he had so stupidly believed Mihir and Bala would hold their ground. I mean Mihir he could believe, Mihir was weak and so running to Mihika and grovelling to her feet to apologise was a predictable reaction. But Bala? Bala, the mature, calm and collected gentleman? Even he ran to his wife begging for forgiveness. The effect these women have on these men, Raman scoffed. But Mihika and Vandita were together, so where was Ishita...
He glanced towards the bar and for an instant ignored her, but then recognised her dress and her long hair flowing. She had her back towards him, but if he saw correctly, Ishita was with a man...
His heart went into overdrive, and for a moment he retorted to his old ways as he grew paranoid. Then he realised Shagun was no longer in his life and this was Ishita he was seeing. Ishita the woman he trusted more than anyone or anything. He didn't doubt her. So instead of being his usual self, jumping to conclusions and making a show of his anger, he slowly walked up to the bar in the disguise of a customer.
"You know, communication is key. You don't know he doesn't have feelings for you until you've asked him." Raman gulped, hearing the stranger and fearing the worst.
"I know, but you see, my husband Raman, he's a very difficult man. He makes me feel restless, sometimes main soch ti hu that there is some hope for our relationship, and then sometimes thodi si paranoid hoti hu ke he'll never see me the way I want him too. Kya karu? I want love, and not just any love, but his love."
"Then don't give up on your relationship. Tum baatari thi ki Ruhi is the glue of your relationship? Then that means you'll never grow apart. All you need now, is to embrace the possibility of love."
Hearing this, Raman's heart fluttered. He smiled, that finally he had heard his wife's worries, worries that he also shared. If people thought Raman Kumar Bhalla was arrogant, then nothing made him more arrogant then hearing that the woman he has grown to love, loves him back.
"To tum restless feel karte ho mere vaja se?" Raman waltzed in, unable to keep the smug look off of his face.
Ishita's face went from disbelief to shock, until to Raman's disbelief she ran out of the building.
"Abh kya kaha main ne?"
"Ishita stop. Stop running. It's raining. Tum ko exercise karne hai baadal main to karo, mujhe shok nahin hai."
Ishita stopped to turn towards him.
"Kitne arrogant ho. Will you ever learn to take things seriously again? Treat me they way I want to be treated, biwi hoon aap ki!" At first she couldn't believe what she had blurted out, but her anger ensured she continued.
"Keh diya na maine? You know how much it hurts to wonder, things like what if you'll never love me and what if you find it again but with someone else? Or what importance do I have in your life, other than your reluctant acceptance of my being Ruhi's mother? Main selfish hu kya? Do I not deserve-
"Chup. Bilkul chup raho. Yaad karo, tumne kaha tha ke baarish tumhe pasind aathi hai? Uske sound? The way it feels on your skin. To phir suno." Raman gently kissed her neck.
"Tum baarish ho. Mere baarish. Poore din apne lecture suna ti ho, aur main chup chap sunta hoon. Jaise baarish ke constant noise aati hai, tumare be aati hai. Jaise bache pura saal intezaar kar te hai, monsoon ke mausam ke liya. I have been waiting my whole life for you, to put me out of my misery. And one day you just came into my life, like a rainstorm, not slowly but very abruptly. You soaked me! It took some time for you to stop annoying me, just like it takes time to appreciate the real beauty of rain before we stop complaining about it." He whispered into her ears with his husky voice.
"Tumaare himmat kaise, ke tumne soch liya ke tum sirf Ruhi ke maa ho?" He broke into his mischievous smile before he kissed her passionately.
"Tum baarish ho, to main aag hu. Aur dekho mere Jhansi Ki Rani, main yeh explosion kabhi nahi exchange karne wahla. Aaj biwi ho tum mere, to sorry baba, par tumhe mere biwi next saath janam thak hona pare ga."
There in the middle of heavy rainfall, they embraced, the fire and the rain, the sun and the moon, ready to return home as one.
Edited by RamanIshitaRu - 11 years ago
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Indian Mythology
Chakravarti Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan
Shiv Shakti
Anupamaa
